Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs by Davide Cali
Publisher: Random House of Canada Limited
Length: 32 pages
Source/Format: NetGalley/e-ARC
Snow White is on the run from an evil witch when she comes across some
dwarfs in the forest. They agree to take her in and keep her safe if she
will help them with their chores. She soon realizes she's taking on a
lot more than she bargained for. 77 breakfasts to make, 77 lunches to
pack (don't forget the juice boxes!), 77 pairs of pants to mend and a
whole lot of dishes. Eventually Snow White decides to take her chances
with the witch. There's a surprise ending... well, it may not be so
surprising. This is a hilarious retelling of the classic tale, with
bright, energetic illustrations featuring busy dwarfs, and the even
busier Snow White.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Today I'm kicking off the Fairy Tale Challenge, with a very different sort of review. You're probably wondering why a twenty-four-year-old book blogger of YA fiction would choose to read a children's picture book, and all I can say in response is,
Look at that cover! When I saw this in the NetGalley catalog, I hit "Request" without a second thought.
Not only is this book gorgeously illustrated, with each page bursting with a rainbow of colors, but it's
funny, too!
If you thought the original Snow White had her hands full cooking, cleaning, and caring for a measly group of seven dwarfs, just think how frazzled she'd be with seventy-seven! There's no rest for poor Snow in this version of the story; as soon as she's prepared one meal for the dwarfs, it's already time to start fixing the next. Then there's the mountain of dishes, the bedtime stories (a different one for each dwarf!), and, most importantly, the beard grooming. After all that work, who has
time for a prince? All this Snow White wants is a nice, long nap, and when the evil (or maybe not so evil after all) witch offers her a poisoned apple, Snow White jumps at the offer: "I'll take
two!" One of the funniest pictures in the book comes at the very end, when Snow White, not waiting to be awoken by a prince's kiss, fully embraces her magically-induced sleep with a sleeping mask and "Do Not Disturb" sign.
Though it only took me all of five minutes to read, I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It definitely coaxed a few chuckles out of me, and I'm absolutely in love with the illustrations. I think I may have to order a copy for myself!
